Tuesday, May 19, 2009

As teachers here, there have been many days which feel like plodding through the mud. We have said "f, j, space" thousands of times over the last three months. "Second finger for j, second finger for f" has been another chant. It has often felt hopeless, and we have kept pushing forward in the dark, believing that they will catch on.

There are no words to express how it feels to watch your students teaching others, coaching them with the words you have said thousands of times, swelling with the pride and potential that you always believed they had.

What We're About

Our dream is to be able to share the computer skills and English language that we have. These simple things have great value in any economy, and especially in a developing economy like Guatemala.

When we talk with Guatemalans, they ask us to bring computers, because they know that computers can open a world for their kids.

We arrived in late January 2009 for 4 months in Guatemala, teaching computers to the people of Tierra Linda. We’re not sure how everything will shape up, but we are looking forward to making a sustainable difference.

Our plan is to teach skills, and train “trainers” who can pass on the skills when we return home. We will also be able to connect across the internet after we return home to Canada, and help them with further questions and learning.

We told our friends and family what we wanted to do, and their generosity has been incredible. We brought 10 used Apple iBook laptops with us, thanks to them, as a start. We are personally covering all of our own costs.